Hey, guys! Sorry it's been a while since my last update-I've been working a lot, and I haven't remembered to update. Whoops.
Anyways, here is chapter four! And you might notice that one of the character's names is Emma. I actually wrote this before SCT Emma Lapointe ever came into the game. It wasn't what I was intending, but after I saw the name in the game (rhymed it, aw yeah), I automatically thought of her as the Emma in this story. Think of her as Emma Lapointe if you want-it doesn't really impact the story. It was just ironic.
Also, thanks to everyone for the reviews! Enjoy this chapter!
On Saturday morning, my mother knocks on my door.
"Oh!" she remarks when she sees I'm hardly stirring. "Aren't you meeting that boy at the library?"
"Yeah," I mutter groggily, not opening my eyes. "At noon."
"Well, it's eleven-twenty," she states, "and—"
I shoot up in bed. "Crap!" I exclaim, quickly hopping out.
"Just be ready to go soon," she advises.
I nod as she closes the door. I then scurry to my closet and pull on a light blue blouse and pair of jeans. I hastily brush my teeth and apply some mascara before grabbing my backpack and nearly flying down the stairs. As I rummage around in the cupboards for something to eat, I check my phone for the time. I have about twenty minutes to eat and be over to the public library, but it takes ten minutes to get there, so I settle on a granola bar and glass of milk.
Just as I'm about to yell for my mom, she walks down the stairs, keys in hand.
"Wanna drive?" she asks, jingling the keys and smiling. I had just gotten my instructional permit recently, but I hadn't been allowed to practice much yet.
"Yes!" I exclaim excitedly, grabbing my bag and the keys from my mom. She laughs as she follows me outside, strapping Neha into the back before sliding into the passenger seat. Sobering up a bit, I buckle myself up and twist the key into the ignition to start the car.
"Careful now," my mother reminds me as I begin to slowly back out of the garage.
Soon enough I've pulled out into the street, and I slowly ease my foot down on the accelerator. The car jerks a little, but my mother doesn't complain. Based on the three other times I've driven since obtaining my permit, she's only verbally protested if I'm about to do something incredibly stupid.
"You don't have to brake so soon," my mother chuckles as I slowly inch up to another car that's a good twenty feet away still.
"I don't wanna hit them!" I protest, letting my foot off the brake long enough to come closer to the next car's bumper.
About ten minutes later, I cautiously pull into the library's parking lot. I'm not sure what kind of car Mal drives, so I have no idea if he's here yet; but I park the car, grab my bag, and step outside.
"Call me when you're done," reminds my mom as she stands and switches back to the driver's side.
"Okay!" I chime as I head into the library. I take a brief look around, but it doesn't look like Mal's here yet. I lean against the wall near the front of the library, messing around on my phone as I wait for Mal to get here. In fact, I'm so engrossed in a solitaire game that I don't notice as Mal walks in and clears his throat, trying to summon my attention.
"Uh, Natara?" he repeats, and my head jerks up.
"Oh! Hi! I was, um, playing a game. Sorry," I stutter in embarrassment.
"It's fine," he shrugs.
"Uh, wanna find somewhere to sit?" I ask, cocking my head towards a small clearing of tables and chairs.
"Sure," he replies, following me as I find a table in the corner. I drop my bag down next to a chair, then sit. Mal follows and we sit there awkwardly for a moment before I speak.
"So, uh... What do you need help on?" I ask him.
He leans over and pulls out his AP Physics textbook, a notebook, and a pencil, as do I.
"The problem set she assigned today in class," he replies, flipping through the book to find the right page.
"Okay," I acknowledge. "What part?"
"Uh, kinda everything," he admits with a slight blush as I glance up at him. "I, uh, don't really get any of it. At all."
I suppress a sigh. "Alright, well... Did you read the pages that go with the assignment?"
He nods. "Yeah, twice."
"And you still don't get it?" I question, trying not to sound mean. I had figured it out from one read, though I do know that I have an easier time absorbing information than others. As made clear in pretty much every day of P.E., I've been gifted with academic abilities, not athletic ones.
"No," he mutters, looking down sheepishly. "Sorry."
"It's okay," I reassure him as I click my pencil several times to get some lead out. "So... we start with the first one, I guess?"
"Sure," he agrees.
I flip open to the correct page and softly read the question out loud. "A uniform magnetic field B points up the page, as shown above. A loop of wire carrying a clockwise current is placed at rest in this field, and then let go. Which of the following describes the motion of the wire immediately after it is let go?" I quickly study the answers. "A, the wire will expand slightly in all directions... B, the wire will contract slightly in all directions... C, the wire will rotate with the top part coming out of the page... or D, the wire will rotate clockwise but remain in the plane of the page."
I think for a moment.
If I use the right-hand rule for the force on the wire... Then the forces exerted at the different parts of the wire will make it rotate and come off the page. So, if I'm thinking correctly, the answer is C!
"Have a guess?" I ask him before I check my answer.
He skims the answers again. "Uh, D?" he guesses, looking doubtful. "'Cause if the current is going clock-wise, wouldn't the wire turn clock-wise, too?"
"I think it's C," I inform him, "But hold on, lemme check."
I flip to the back of the book where the answers are given, and check to make sure my solution is correct.
"Yep," I confirm after a few moments.
"Why?" he asks, looking confused.
"Well, since the current is flowing clock-wise, we'll use the right-hand rule. Do you, uh, remember what that is?"
He nods. "I think so."
"Alright, so we'll use the right-hand rule. Since the current is flowing along the magnetic field lines," I explain, pointing at the diagram, "those parts of the wire won't experience any force. The top-most portion of the wire will experience a force pulling it out of the page, and the bottom part of the wire will experience a force going into the page. So you're correct that the wire will rotate clock-wise, but since there's a force acting on the top-most part of the wire, the top of the wire will come out of the page. Do you get that?"
I glance up at Mal to see if he understood, but a blank look dons his face. "I, uh... Could you repeat that? Please? And, uh, maybe a little slower?"
I suppress another sigh and re-explain in slightly simplified terms. I make sure to slow down a bit; I do have a tendency to speak quickly when I explain things that I understand.
"Any better?" I ask hopefully after explaining again.
"Kind of," he mutters, biting the eraser of his pencil and not making eye contact.
I'll take that as a no.
"What part don't you understand?" I question now.
"Like, why is the force pulling the wire out of the page instead of just, like, clock-wise?"
"The right-hand rule," I repeat patiently, showing him with my right hand.
"Ooohhh," he declares, understanding flashing in his eyes. "Okay, got it."
"Good," I say with a smile. "Next one?"
He nods.
"Okay... A loop of wire is located inside a uniform magnetic field, as shown above..."
Nearly three hours later, Mal and I have finished the tenth and last problem. Well, Mal finished three hours later; I finished in the first hour-and-a-half, and spent the latter half of the time explaining things to Mal or doodling in the margins as Mal struggled.
"Finally," Mal sighs as he closes his textbook with a bit more force than necessary. We simultaneously stand and begin to gather our things. "Thanks for the help," he adds with a half-smile, "and, uh, sorry it took me so long. I'm kinda dumb in general, but I'm particularly terrible at science. I'm sure you have other things you could be doing."
Actually, no, not really.
"You're welcome," I reply, returning the smile. "And you're not dumb; you just need a little more one-on-one. You did the problems," I add pointedly, slinging my bag over my shoulder.
"Yeah," he mutters sardonically, "after three hours of you repeating everything about ten times each."
"But you still completed them," I persist as we walk side-by-side to the door. "Even if I did explain some things, you worked them out on your own."
"Yeah, I guess," he shrugs. "But thanks," he adds appreciatively. I smile in return.
As we reach the doors, I pull out my phone to text my mom.
Done, I type, Can you please pick me up?
"Do you, uh, need a ride home?" he questions as he pulls his keys out from his pocket.
I look up, surprised. "Oh, uh, no... my mom's picking me up. But thanks," I add with a polite smile.
"Sure," he nods. "Thanks again for the help. Oh, and, uh... Would you mind maybe helping me out more often? If that doesn't bother you, of course. I mean, it was helpful, and Mrs. Roberts isn't teaching me crap, so..." He trails off awkwardly, cheeks flushing the slightest shade of red as he uncomfortably meets my surprised gaze.
"Oh, well, sure!" I reply, hiding my slight surprise. "Just, uh... Talk to me at school when you need me?"
"Sounds good," he replies. He lingers awkwardly for a moment before turning to the door. "Well, see ya'. And thanks again."
"See ya'," I echo as he turns, pushes the door open, and walks towards his car in the parking lot.
While I wait for my mother, I occupy myself with absentmindedly wandering through the young adult aisles.
Suddenly, I feel my phone buzz in my pocket.
In the parking lot, reads the text from my mother.
I adjust the strap on my shoulder, then walk out to the parking lot where my mother's car is idling.
"What took so long?" she asks as I climb in and close the door.
"He didn't understand anything," I sigh, trying not to laugh.
"Well, I trust my brilliant young lady helped him, then?" she continues.
"Yeah," I chime with a smile. "I think he got it, for the most part. And he asked if I could help him more often."
My mother eyes me with a slightly amused look.
"Why're you looking at me like that?" I ask, brow furrowed slightly.
"Have you eaten since breakfast?" she asks, ignoring my question.
I shake my head. "Nope, I'm hungry."
"Subway sound all right? The neighbor's watching Neha because I had to run some errands, so I have time to make a quick stop."
"Yep," I agree, "sounds great!"
A week later, Bethany and I are chatting in Physics class as Mrs. Roberts hands back quizzes we took the other day on magnetism. Bethany and I receive ours with similar scores, ninety-six and ninety-four, respectively.
From in front of me, Drew turns around and sees the score circled on my paper. "Nerd," he comments in a low, sneering voice.
"Hey, leave her alone," Bethany scowls. She glances up and spots the score on Drew's paper as Mrs. Roberts hands it back to him.
"Nice forty-percent," Bethany scoffs after Mrs. Roberts is out of ear-shot. Drew just scowls, turning away.
"Thanks," I laugh as she smiles smugly.
Still kitty-corner, Mal reluctantly accepts his from the teacher.
"Better," is all she comments as she continues to pass out papers.
He flips it over, then turns to me. "Better," he echoes, flashing me the seventy-three circled in red, "but still not great."
"But it's still better," I remind him optimistically. "Especially compared to the fifty-four from last time."
"Yeah," he shrugs. He acts like he doesn't care, but I can tell he's secretly at least a little excited that he got over a sixty. "I suppose you got an a hundred or something?"
"Ninety-four," I correct with a light laugh.
"Same difference," he says. We stare at each other for a moment before he turns away.
Bethany is smirking slightly at me as I turn back to her.
"What?" I question, remembering my mother's similar look. "Why is everyone looking at me like that lately?"
She just smiles, ignoring the question and turning to Emma. Sighing, I join their conversation.
After class, I notice Mal hovering by the door again as I gather my things. Bethany notices, too, and shoots me that same smirk before heading off towards the gym.
"Hi," I say as he steps out from behind the door-frame.
"Oh, uh, hey," he utters like he didn't expect me to notice him so soon.
"Need some help again?" I guess, shifting my weight to my right leg.
He nods, slightly sheepish. "The waves thing is confusing the hell outta me, but if I do decent on the next test, my grade will probably go up to a C-minus."
Go up to a C-minus?
I laugh lightly, then offer, "Same time, same place?"
"Sounds good," he accepts.
As was seeming to become an awkward habit, we stand there and say nothing for a moment before we both take a step, as if to walk off. The maneuver would have worked just fine if Mal hadn't stepped to his left and I hadn't stepped to my right. We accidentally run into each other, causing us both to quickly step back clumsily.
"Oops, sorry," I mutter, glancing up as his blue eyes meet mine. We try again, but we both step in each other's paths again. We awkwardly, yet unintentionally, do this another few times, before we both step back with an embarrassed and exasperated grunt.
"Dammit, sorry," Mal curses, taking several steps to the right and clear out of my way.
"It's okay," I say with a nervous laugh. "My bad."
We make eye contact once more before we both turn and walk off. Only now do I notice that my cheeks feel warm and that I'm probably blushing.
Really, Natara? Dammit.